Back in January 2012 , we published the following article (here) containing the following text: A luxury cruise ship has run aground off the coast of Tuscany, gashing open the hull, killing 32 people and forcing 4,229 people from 70 countries aboard to evacuate on lifeboats to the nearby island of Giglio early on Saturday.
The Italian news agency ANSA reported that some people had jumped overboard in the scramble to evacuate the ship, which had just begun a Mediterranean cruise.
The evacuees were taking refuge in schools, hotels, and a church on the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, a popular vacation isle about 18 miles (25 kilometres) off Italy’s central west coast.
Now jump forward to 20 months later …. in less than 5 hours time salvage workers will attempt to raise the 114,500-ton ship Costa Concordia cruise ship, weather permitting, in an unprecedented operation costing more than 600 million euros.
This is an operation that has never been attempted before … if weather conditions allow, the operation will start at 6:00 am (0400 GMT) on September 16, – Franco Gabrielli, head of the civil protection agency
Once the rusting luxury liner is upright, it will be towed away for scrapping.
The size of the ship and its location make this the most challenging operation I’ve ever been involved in – Nick Sloane, the chief salvage operator.
The ship would initially be dragged up with ropes for four or five hours before gravity takes over and it begins to right itself on its own, with giant metal tanks fixed on the side currently exposed acting as brakes to prevent it from flipping over.
Tanks or “sponsons” have been welded onto one side of the ship and the plan is to fix more onto the side that is now underwater once it has been raised.
The tanks would then act as giant flotation devices to allow the 290-metre vessel to be towed away to be dismantled, probably early next year.
Salvage workers have already removed the fuel from the ship in order to prevent an environmental disaster in the area, one of Europe’s biggest marine sanctuaries.
But environmentalists have warned of the potential danger of toxic chemicals from the ship pouring into the sea as it is rolled over in what is known in shipping terminology as a “parbuckling”.
At sunrise, the rotation will begin in earnest, with computer-operated strand jacks being used to tighten cables and pull the ship slowly upwards without, it is hoped, twisting or breaking its main structures. The operation is expected to last between eight and 12 hours. And once it is started, it cannot be stopped.
All the forces you’re putting on her will cause a lot of deformation, so the weaker elements will deform and some will fracture and if you put it back again then that’s it, you’ve lost the chance. You only have one chance from the start – Nick Sloane, the chief salvage operator.
Images – ALESSANDRO BIANCHI/REUTERS